— — — — — —
A light with no warmth yet blindingly brilliant wrapped around Ryo.
Layer after layer of radiance unfolded like a cold, lonely universe: vast, majestic, pure, and utterly frigid.
That chill crept along the link between authorities, spreading toward Ares, trying to freeze his thoughts, to lock his very soul in ice.
But before that moment could fully arrive, Ares followed the warning of his instincts and cut off his authority's interference with Ryo.
At the same time, he raised his divine shield and actively awakened the authority within it, placing his comparatively fragile godly body under the protection of the Red War.
Unlike some deities who concealed their power within themselves, the Greek gods, in order to maintain their four-digit, rule-breaking status, typically forged their authorities into divine artifacts, keeping their physical bodies relatively weak.
And Ares's shield was crafted from the authority of "War" itself.
---
Far away, on Mount Olympus - Within the Temple of the God of War
The Sons of War who had received revelation gathered before Ares's statue, silently chanting his prayers.
Flecks of red light formed within the murmured recitations, linking together along invisible paths before converging onto Ares as their core.
From this point on, any damage Ares suffered would be evenly distributed among every member of the War Legion.
At the same time, the Legion's power would flow back into Ares.
This was no longer a game.
For the first time, Ares sensed real danger in Ryo. Deadly danger.
"Hm..."
At that moment, Ryo, bathed in golden radiance, opened eyes that seemed to hold entire nebulae within them and let out a quiet sigh. "In this state, I can't compress the destructive force like I did earlier."
Ares no longer wore that ugly grin. His voice was tight with dread as he ground his teeth, "Another Cosmology!"
A supreme secret treasure of the pantheons of Gods, an ultimate force forged around a cosmic worldview.
"Humans!"
Ares clenched his jaw, doing his best not to let even a trace of envy show.
Meanwhile, Ryo slowly raised his hands. Between his loosely cupped palms, a nebula appeared.
Tiny stellar bodies were born in his hands, lived out their brief existences, and collapsed into nothing, giving rise to clouds of stardust. With the space between his hands as its core, they spun ceaselessly, forming a dazzling galaxy.
Holding the "galaxy," Ryo looked at the locked-on Ares in the distance and smiled, "I'm still half-baked with this move, but it's the one I most want to master."
Ares's lips trembled. He forced a crooked smile that looked like fear more than amusement. "Don't be rash. The Little Garden core system won't allow power of this scale to appear in the lower layers. You'd better calm down."
In Ryo's vision alone, illusory chains appeared, like shackles binding the galaxy in his hands, "Relax. I'll push this as close to the maximum as I can. Whether it gets stopped or not is your problem."
He murmured to himself, and the galaxy in his hands began to turn.
"Stardust Revolution!"
In that instant, within Ryo's grasp—
Boundless light was born, flooding outward in every direction.
The galaxy spun and burned.
Within the fabricated Soul Society, it was as if an unimaginably massive sun was slowly rising.
Across layer upon layer of overlapping space, over a land spanning one hundred and twenty thousand kilometers and covered by tens of thousands of Soul Societies—
Every contestant looked up in shock, staring at the sky, at the "SUN" that had just bloomed and cast its light across countless worlds.
The Gold Saint Aries Mū's technique: Stardust Revolution (Sutādasuto Reboryūshon).
A killing art that forms a galaxy in one's palm and sets it spinning, unleashing a universe-level catastrophe to drown the enemy.
An ultimate move only a Gold Saint guarding Athena could release while burning their Cosmo to its limit.
"Shit—"
Ares barely managed to curse before being swallowed whole by endless light.
—
[2105380] Outer Gate - Outside Arcadia City.
A blond youth wearing a winged helmet suddenly appeared.
He was Hermes, god of theft and commerce, the messenger of Zeus.
Floating high in the air, he looked toward the distant city, blurred by overlapping space, and clicked his tongue.
"Zeus just sent me to bring Ares back? Seriously, how does he have the nerve to ask me to stop this fight?"
Even Hermes found Zeus's style disgusting.
Sending someone who already had a grudge against Ryo to restrain Ares was basically telling him to slack off on purpose.
Standing in the sky, Hermes raised his hand to his brow and peered toward the city.
"By now, Ares should've beaten that kid senseless, right?"
Ares had left Mount Olympus and vanished yesterday.
But considering Athena had departed the City at dawn, Hermes was certain Ares wouldn't walk into that trap so early.
Back then, Athena had nearly used her spear to end Ares's bloodline. Given that trauma, as long as she was in Arcadia City, Ares would never show his face.
By that logic, Ares likely wouldn't act until after dawn, and would probably wait a few more hours to test whether Athena had really left.
Add in Ares's foul mouth, and there was a good chance he'd kick down Ryo's door right after the game started.
Thinking that through, Hermes quickly judged the time, "The game's been going for about fifteen minutes. That's more than enough time for Ares to finish a full round. Maybe he's just wrapping up."
At that thought, Hermes's eyes shifted, gradually lighting up.
This time, he'd come with Zeus's order to call a ceasefire. And this incarnation of his carried authority itself, free from the usual range limits.
So… maybe he could sneak in a little surprise attack on Ryo?
The idea made Hermes's eyes shine.
He looked toward the City of the End and slowly reached out.
"Theft!"
He stole the distance between himself and the city, instantly appearing inside it, snatching up the still-falling Gift Game contract from the sky.
After a quick glance at the document, he chuckled, pulled out the positioning Gift Zeus had given him, and locked onto Ares's location.
In the next instant, he stole the "position" of Ares's helmet and abruptly appeared near the battlefield.
"Yo, Ares actually got his helmet knocked off?"
Hermes was briefly surprised as he looked around.
With his eyesight, he could clearly see that this layer of space was in shambles. Across a hundred and twenty thousand square kilometers, the land had been partially vaporized by some overwhelming energy.
The fact that anything remained was only because the organizer's authority was quietly propping it up.
"That idiot actually used power beyond the lower layer's limit. Is he insane? Or did beating up Athena's boy toy get him too excited and fry his brain?"
With a glance, Hermes pieced together part of what had happened and couldn't help sneering.
Then, suddenly, he received a revelation.
He snapped his head around, his gaze piercing several layers of space, and saw Ryo and Ares facing each other from afar.
Clearly, their clash had either been interrupted or was on the verge of being resolved peacefully.
But that kind of ending was the last thing Hermes wanted.
Suddenly, a twisted smile spread across his face.
He raised the staff of commerce in his hand, abruptly altered his voice, and perfectly mimicked Athena as he shouted, "By Zeus's order, both sides are to cease hostilities!"
On the raised staff, energy capable of shattering a star gathered, violently twisting the boundary between realms as it launched a sudden strike straight at the back of Ryo's head.
At the same time, Hermes thrust out his right hand and activated [Theft]
He tried to use his authority to steal Ryo's "future of dodging the attack."
And then, right after launching the attack, Hermes saw Ares's body crumble inch by inch, like a sandcastle collapsing on the shore, then constructed again after he muttered something.
"Hahaha!" Ares, who had long since noticed Hermes, finally changed his expression, revealing a face full of malicious delight.
It was the look of someone who'd fallen into a trap and just spotted another unlucky soul walking straight in.
Pure Schadenfreude.
.
.
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